A mass of small islands, villages, and natural sights are close enough for you to reach, making Upernavik a perfect do-it-yourself destination.
Upernavik is a prime town for travelers who want something between an organized holiday and a self-sustaining Arctic expedition. The off-the-grid factor in Upernavik is great thanks to its high northern latitude and a sun that disappears for three months a year. But with oodles of surrounding villages, lively maritime traffic in the summer, and easy connections from tourist hotspots, one still feels comfortably connected to the rest of Greenland.
Flying into Upernavik on a small propeller plane, you land on the snowy hill high above town. And so at the first sight of Upernavik you see exactly what adventures await. A bay dotted with thousands of islands, the spectacular Upernavik Icefjord to the north and the world’s largest bird cliffs, Apparsuit, directly to the south. An open-air museum revealing colonial and Viking histories. And a town full of interesting Greenlanders, each with his own narrative about daily life in Upernavik.
A VIBE OF CHANGE
Upernavik is filled with contrasts. The town’s fishermen are central to the Greenland fishing industry, yet they are isolated enough along the northwest coast to have their own language dialects, even from village to village. Inuit traditions like ice fishing and hunting for sea mammals are revered in Upernavik, yet climate change increasingly jeopardizes their sustainability and paves the way for more diverse and globalized industries to enter the region.
Whether these changes come to Upernavik next year or in the next decade, our pioneering spirit and culture of adaptation will show its strength. We welcome new opportunities to mix with old favorites, as playing a good football match or grilling fresh caught trout will certainly always remain.